STIFF SORE BACK AT NIGHT?

I've been waking up feeling stiff in the morning, tossing and turning at night trying to find a comfortable position to support my back and neck. Having such terrible sleep the last two nights has inspired me to write this blog with helpful tips to help you with your sleep.

I've a slipped disc from an injury years ago – so I need to be very careful with my back and keep it mobilised each day. Traveling, sitting and lounging on stiff sun loungers have made my low bak rather stiff the last few days – I'm suffering the consequences when I go to bed.

Chronic back pain was found to affect several dimensions of sleep, including (Kelly, et al., 2011):

* Sleep disturbance and duration

* Poor daytime function due to lack of sleep

* Sleep quality

* Sleep satisfaction and distress

* Sleep efficiency

* Increased time taken to fall asleep

I can definitely relate to most on this list after two days of poor sleep.

Tonight I've organised some essentials to help me get the best possible sleep. There’s nothing worse than not getting proper sleep.

First on my list is to improve my sleeping posture – normally at home I sleep on my left side and I always sleep with a pillow between my legs.

Tonight to prevent lost sleep and improve my next day performance capabilities, it's important I've good sleeping posture.

Proper sleeping posture supports your spine while you’re asleep to prevent waking up feeling stiff and sore throughout the night.

So I need to ensure I get myself organised before bed tonight.

Here are my top Sleep Solutions to Prevent Waking Up with a Stiff Back

• The best sleeping postures are sleeping on your back or your side. Personally I find this impossible – I managed it while pregnant, but never found it comfortable.

• If you can manage sleeping on your back focus on relaxing your spine so your back, shoulders, and hips are comfortably touching the bed.

• Keep your legs extended out, or place a small pillow under your legs with your legs slightly bent. Laying on your back and allowing your legs to fall to one side or the other can cause excessive spinal twisting while sleeping.

• If you prefer to sleep on your side be aware of your posture by placing a small pillow between your legs. This will help keep your hips in a level position throughout the night.

• Check to see that your ear is aligned over your shoulder and your shoulders are aligned over your hips. This is a neutral posture with minimal stress to your back and neck.

• Support your body with good pillows, but not excessively fluffy pillows. We want you to feel comfortable at night and be able to fall asleep without pain. However, excessively fluffy pillows can create strain to your neck and do not support your head. You may experience headaches or neck pain from the use of too many pillows or very large pillows.

• Once you find a comfortable position that supports your back focus on falling asleep in this posture. If you wake up throughout the night consciously put yourself back in the healthy sleeping posture and fall asleep again in this posture. You want to train yourself to sleep in a healthy position. This requires conscious repetition. Even if you wake up in a different position, move back into the healthy posture to fall back asleep.

• Take note of your posture when you wake up. Did you wake up in the same position or did you toss and turn throughout the night? Tossing and turning can reduce sleep quality leaving you feeling groggy in the morning. If you moved throughout the night put yourself back in the healthy posture before rising from bed. Train your brain and body to maintain a good sleeping posture.

• If you feel stiff in the morning when you wake up, take a shower then perform light stretches of the lower back before heading to work. Ease into the day with a good stretch and proper posture.

• Poor sleep is associated with many health consequences that can affect your performance at work, your mood, and how you feel during the day. To prevent fatigue the next day take care to sleep in a good position and create new posture habits that support healthy sleeping patterns.

Extra pillow for me tonight for between my legs. Happy sleeping 😴 

Sarah Jane

Posture Expert

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